Army reform 2016

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The aim of the reform of the armed forces in 2016 is to fundamentally restructure the armed forces. The cornerstones of the reform are to increase the number of active soldiers, to strengthen the local military command and to specialize the four brigades of the federal army.

Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil published details of the reform package in mid-June 2016 after it was announced in April that the armed forces would receive a so-called "security billion plus" (specifically an additional 1.3 billion euros) by 2020.

Objectives of the reform

Organization of the Austrian Armed Forces after the Armed Forces Reform 2016

The refugee crisis in 2015 had shown that the armed forces with the forces currently present (KPE cadre presence units) of 2,200 men very quickly reached their personal capacity limits, so an essential component of the reform is the increase of these forces to a total strength 6000 professional and temporary soldiers.

Further goals are:

  • A modernization of resources such as vehicles and equipment in order to achieve an increase in capabilities
  • Personnel strengthening of the emergency services and increasing the ability to react
  • An increase in operational readiness by ensuring the training company and exercises
  • To increase sustainability in scenarios such as the refugee crisis by recruiting additional staff through a personnel offensive
  • Ensuring a modern military infrastructure

Implementation of the reform

Changes in the ministry and at the command level

In the Ministry of Defense , the number of sections will be reduced to four:

  • Section I: Law and Personnel
  • Section II: Sport
  • Section III: Provision
  • Section IV: Deployment

Sections III and IV will in future be directly subordinate to the General Staff of the Federal Army and a General Staff Directorate that has yet to be created.

The previous armed forces command is to be dissolved, instead the following will be formed:

The four now specialized brigades of the armed forces ( reaction forces ), the nine military commands that will be strengthened in the future ( territorial forces) and special forces will be subordinate to the command land forces .

Specialization of the brigades as reaction forces

The specialization of the brigades stipulates that each of the four large units will in future be given a clear orientation for a specific deployment scenario. They are all part of the so-called reaction forces and should be quickly available through a high proportion of management presence units (KPE):

The following table shows the transfer of the units of the previous brigades to the new armed forces structure. Five battalions migrate to the military command, three of them from the previous 6th Jäger Brigade:

Transfer of the previous structure of the brigades
old commando old unit new command unit new unit
3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade Armored Staff Battalion 3 Command quick operations Staff Battalion 3
3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade Tank Battalion 33 Command quick operations Hunter Battalion 33
3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade 35th Panzer Grenadier Battalion 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade 35th Panzer Grenadier Battalion
3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade Jäger Battalion 19 Command quick operations Jäger Battalion 19
3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade Reconnaissance and Artillery Battalion 3 Command quick operations Reconnaissance Battalion 3
3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade Engineer Battalion 3 Command quick operations Engineer Battalion 3
4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Armored Staff Battalion 4 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Armored Staff Battalion 4
4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Tank battalion 14 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Tank battalion 14
4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Panzer Grenadier Battalion 13 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Panzer Grenadier Battalion 13
4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Jäger Battalion 12 Military command of Lower Austria Jäger Battalion 12
4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Reconnaissance and Artillery Battalion 4 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade Reconnaissance and Artillery Battalion 4
6th Jäger Brigade Staff Battalion 6 Military Command Tyrol Jäger Battalion 6
6th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 23 Vorarlberg military command Jäger Battalion 23
6th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 24 Mountain battle command Jäger Battalion 24
6th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 26 Carinthia military command Jäger Battalion 26
6th Jäger Brigade Engineer Battalion 2 Mountain battle command Engineer Battalion 2
7th Jäger Brigade Staff Battalion 7 7th Jäger Brigade Staff Battalion 7
7th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 17 7th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 17
7th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 18 Military command of Styria Jäger Battalion 18
7th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 25 7th Jäger Brigade Jäger Battalion 25
7th Jäger Brigade Reconnaissance and Artillery Battalion 7 7th Jäger Brigade Reconnaissance and Artillery Battalion 7
7th Jäger Brigade Engineer Battalion 1 7th Jäger Brigade Engineer Battalion 1

Rapid Operations Command (KSE)

With the exception of the 35th Panzer Grenadier Battalion, all units of the old brigade remain in the Rapid Operations Command, the former 3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade. New additions are the NBC Defense Command and the Military Patrol & Military Police Command.

In the future, the association will have the task of providing appropriate forces for deployments at home and abroad as well as in urban areas. The focus is on supporting the defense against terrorist threats and maintaining security when police measures are insufficient.

The Rapid Operations command is structured as follows:

Mountain battle command

In the Mountain Combat Command, the former 6th Jäger Brigade, only Jäger Battalion 24 and Engineer Battalion 2 remain of the old units. All other units migrate to the military command.

In the future, the association has the task of specializing in combat tasks in the low and high mountains and developing into a European training center for mountain fighting.

The Mountain Combat Command is structured as follows:

The mountain fighting center in Saalfelden and the pack animal center in Hochfilzen are also subordinate to the command.

4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade

In the future, all mechanized units of the armed forces will be concentrated in the 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade, which is why the 35th Panzer Grenadier Battalion of the old 3rd Panzer Grenadier Brigade is moving to this unit. This summary means that the 4th Panzer Brigade is to develop into the Heavy Brigade of the Federal Army, which is suitable for robust operations at home and abroad.

The 4th Panzer Grenadier Brigade is structured as follows:

7th Jäger Brigade

Compared to the old structure, the 7th Jägerbrigade lost Jägerbataillon 18, which migrated to the Styrian Military Command. The association has the character of a light brigade and is intended to support the rapid operations command on missions at home and abroad. Due to the presence of the Jäger Battalion 25, parts of the brigade are also airborne.

The 7th Jäger Brigade is structured as follows:

Strengthening the military command as part of the territorial forces

A militia hunter battalion was assigned to each of the nine military commanders. The Vienna Military Command, which has two assigned militia battalions, is an exception. What is new is that every military command now also has a present hunter battalion. These nine present hunter battalions and ten militia battalions form the territorial forces, which are also led by the Land Forces Command in Graz.

The formation or assignment of the nine hunter battalions takes place according to the following procedure:

  • The Jäger Battalions 1, 7 and 15 will be completely reorganized. This represents the first reorganization of associations since 1978.
  • The Jäger Battalions 6 and 8 are created from levies from other units as well as through the reclassification of Staff Battalion 6 and Anti-Aircraft Battalion 3.
  • The Jäger Battalions 12, 18, 23 and 26 will be detached from their previous brigade units, which will form the reaction forces in the future, and will be placed under the military command. Whereby the Jäger Battalion 26 should be placed under the command of the mountain combat after the formation of the Jäger Battalion 7.
  • The Vienna Military Command will keep the guard battalion that has already been assigned .

The following table shows the assignment of the units of the military command:

Assigned battalion of the military command
Military command Present hunter battalions Militia battalions
Burgenland Military Command Jäger Battalion 1 Burgenland Jäger Battalion
Carinthia military command initially Jäger Battalion 26

after the formation of the 7th Jäger Battalion

Carinthia Jäger Battalion
Military command of Lower Austria Jäger Battalion 12 Hunter Battalion Lower Austria "Kopal"
Military Command Upper Austria Jäger Battalion 15 Jäger Battalion Upper Austria
Military command in Salzburg Jäger Battalion 8 Hunters Battalion Salzburg "Archduke Rainer"
Military command of Styria Jäger Battalion 18 Hunters Battalion Styria "Archduke Johann"
Military Command Tyrol Jäger Battalion 6 Jägerbataillon Tirol
Vorarlberg military command Jäger Battalion 23 Hunter battalion Vorarlberg
Military Command Vienna Guard battalion Jägerbataillon Wien 1 "Hoch- und Deutschmeister"
Jägerbataillon Wien 2 "Maria Theresia"

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Defense Minister Doskozil gives the armed forces a new structure , website derstandard.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  2. ↑ a b "Sicherheitsmilliarde plus": More money for the armed forces ( memento of June 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), website www.bundesheer.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  3. ^ The cadre presence units of the armed forces , website www.bundesheer.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  4. ↑ Army Order: Recruiting Soldiers Without Upper Limit, website www.nachrichten.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  5. ↑ Armed Forces Command , website www.bundesheer.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  6. ^ Minister Doskozil sets up three new battalions , website www.krone.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o The new structures of the federal army , website www.bundesheer.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  8. ↑ The Saalfelden Mountain Battle Center introduces itself , website www.bundesheer.at, accessed on June 28, 2016
  9. ↑ Pack animal center in Hochfilzen is ready for use , website www.bundesheer.at, accessed on June 28, 2016